Press and media affairs relating to It's Just Lunch, a dating service for busy professionals. For more information about It's Just Lunch visit www.ItsJustLunch.com

San Diego, CA – August 2, 2016 – It’s Just Lunch, the country’s premiere matchmaking service for busy professionals, celebrates its 25th anniversary this summer. Founded on the premise that face-to-face meetings – a casual lunch or drink after work – are the ideal first date, It’s Just Lunch has grown to serve clients in 39 states (plus the District of Columbia), Canada and four overseas countries. The It’s Just Lunchsix-step process forgoes the detached nature of online dating in favor of a tailored concierge service.

“Over the past 25 years, the dating world has changed fundamentally,” said Melissa Brown, CEO of It’s Just Lunch. “The internet has changed the way single’s meet but it is very impersonal and uncertain. It’s Just Lunch offers singles an alternative – we get to know each of our clients on a personal level and hand-pick potential matches. Our process is personalized and it’s proven.”

The It’s Just Lunch method is backed by research into modern dating preferences. It’s Just Lunch conducted a recent study of over 2,100 singles. The results validated that the favorite attributes of concierge matchmaking – over traditional or online dating – include interaction with a personal matchmaker, the ease of having guaranteed dates set up for them, and the private nature of the service.

“With online dating you never know who’s on the other side of the line,” said Desireé Schlitt, an It’s Just Lunch client who met her husband through the service. “IJL had better quality people who were interesting to me. It truly was an experience that was tailored for me.”

“It’s Just Lunch makes it very easy to meet someone,” said Shane and Jennifer Day, who married after they met through It’s Just Lunch. “We’ve recommended It’s Just Lunch to friends because wading through other online dating options is tiresome and tiring. And letting somebody else do that work for you is the best way to go.”

“It’s Just Lunch is truly full service,” added Brown. “Our matchmakers’ job is not over after setting up the first date; on the contrary, it’s only the beginning. We get feedback after every date so we can fine tune the next match. We don’t rely on a computer making arbitrary selections from a database of names. We’re real matchmakers with years of experience working passionately to make sparks fly for our clients. I still get goosebumps every time I hear that our clients are getting married. Our sole focus is helping clients meet that special someone.”

About It’s Just Lunch

It’s Just Lunch is a personalized dating service for busy professionals. The company has coordinated over two million dates for clients since opening in 1991. IJL minimizes the stress and maximizes the efficiency of dating by sending people on casual, no-pressure dates over lunch, brunch or drinks after work. It’s Just Lunch’s team of dating specialists, not a computer, perform the matchmaking. The company services over 150 cities in the US, Canada and internationally. Visit www.itsjustlunch.com for more information.

Instead of waiting on fate to work its magic, Beau Garrett took matters into his own hands. He employed the art of matchmaking and hired It’s Just Lunch (IJL). It worked! Happily married for two years, Beau credits IJL for helping him find his best friend, soul mate, and fellow skier, Jesalyn.

Why did you join IJL? I’d gone through a divorce in 2009, and I lived in a really happenin’ area of Minneapolis called Uptown. Even though I was having a lot of fun, I knew I wasn’t going to meet somebody who I’d want to spend the rest of my life with in that kind of lifestyle. Going out to a bar scene was a crapshoot. Same thing goes for online dating. I dabbled in it, but all my experiences were negative. So I called It’s Just Lunch.

The data showed that Asian women are the most preferred by all men except Asian men – who prefer Hispanic women.Asian, Hispanic and Caucasian women prefer Caucasian men while Caucasian men are more likely to respond to everyone but Caucasian women.Caucasian women are twice as likely to respond to Caucasian men than African-American men.African-American men are more likely to respond to women of different races but receive three times more responses from African-American women than a non-black woman.

African-American women prefer all races over Caucasian men but are the least likely to get a response from all men.Irene LaCota, spokesperson for matchmaking service Its Just Lunch backed up Fischer’s data. “We have seen a trend with younger men being more open to dating different ethnicities,” she said via email. “For example, young asian men are requesting to be matched with caucasian women.”

“For some singles ethnicity is extremely important and a deal breaker." said LaCota. “Our matchmakers will encourage our clients to be open-minded and not paint such a 'tight picture' of who they want to date."

LaCota did have some positive words of advice however. “ Chemistry trumps all when it comes to getting to the second date,“ she said.

It's good to know - from a bona fide matchmaker - that no matter what your ethnicity, the connection is what really counts.

Today, however, I want to focus on how the steadily declining U.S. economy is affecting men. If you are a single man and you are unemployed, that automatically means that most single women will not be interested in you at all. At least that is what one very shocking survey discovered…

Of the 925 single women surveyed, 75 percent said they’d have a problem with dating someone without a job. Only 4 percent of respondents asked whether they would go out with an unemployed man answered “of course.”

“Not having a job will definitely make it harder for men to date someone they don’t already know,” Irene LaCota, a spokesperson for It’s Just Lunch, said in a press release. “This is the rare area, compared to other topics we’ve done surveys on, where women’s old-fashioned beliefs about sex roles seem to apply.”

Spending Thanksgiving with your boyfriend's or girlfriend's family can be both an enlightening and stressful experience. You get to meet your significant other's relatives, see their baby photos, and hear funny stories about their childhood. Or vice versa, you get to show your date off to your family. But, the task of keeping your date happy while impressing the family can be daunting. We spoke with Krista White, the president of It's Just Lunch D.C. It's Just Lunch is a dating service for busy professionals in D.C. and surrounding cities, with over 22 years of experience matching couples over lunch. She gave us a few tips on how to survive your first Thanksgiving with your boyfriend's or girlfriend's family, as well as some tips for those of you bringing your date around family for the first time.

In The Capital: What are some things a boyfriend or girlfriend should remember or know when bringing their date to the family Thanksgiving?

Krista White: First things first, prep your date! Warn them of any topics to avoid and give them ideas for good conversation starters. Is your family big into college basketball? Great! Is talking about the war in front of your uncle is off limits? Good to know! Also be sure to give them the heads up about any special traditions your family has so they can be prepared. Lastly, be sure to introduce them to everyone and don't hesitate to help facilitate conversation if it gets off to a rocky start.

ITC: What are some things a date should remember or know when visiting their boyfriend or girlfriend's family?

KW: Do your homework on the family. Who will be there? What are they like? Are they religious? Political? It's a good idea to get an sense of family dynamics beforehand. If your date hasn't offered up good conversation ideas, ask for them and be sure to find out if there are any unusual topics you should avoid. Other than that, be yourself and try to relax. Bonus points if you bring a little something for the host or hostess.

It's Just Lunch, a dating service for professionals, recently conducted a study that found 75 percent of women would be unlikely to date a man who is unemployed.

However, 42 percent of the 75 percent said they might go out on a date with a guy who doesn't have a job, but probably wouldn't want to date him long-term (which many guys would actually prefer).

The research, which was based on 925 responses, revealed only 21 percent said they would definitely date an unemployed man, noted BusinessNewsDaily.com.

"Not having a job will definitely make it harder for men to date someone they don't already know," said Irene LaCota, spokesperson for It's Just Lunch, said in a press release. "This is the rare area, compared to other topics we've done surveys on, where women's old-fashioned beliefs about sex roles seem to apply."

Every matchmaking service caters to a certain demographic and deals with different levels of relationship needs. Most of them do their own personal vetting of potential partners through questionnaires and in-person interviews. After getting to know more about the client, the matchmaker then weeds through their database of members seeking partners and find ones that have similar needs, wants, and goals.“Through this process, we discover the key characteristics that our clients are looking for in a match,” says Irene LaCota, Spokesperson for It’s Just Lunch International. “We introduce them to other like-minded singles in a casual, low-pressure setting where they can talk face-to-face, which we believe is the only way you can truly get to know someone. After we select a match, we’ll describe the person and confirm a convenient time and place to meet. All are clients have to do is show up and have fun meeting someone new.”

There's a lot of pressure with first dates when you're a midlife single, especially if it's your first date in a long time. Lunch dates are great because (much like a coffee date) the end time is pretty much determined in advance. This makes it easy to exit without awkwardness or excuses.

Another benefit is cost. If you're unsure whether or not you'll hit it off with someone, lunch is lighter on the budget than dinner followed by drinks and dessert. What's more, the tone of the date is lighter and less serious so you're less apt to be nervous for lunch dates.

You can always arrange your own lunch dates, of course, or you can opt to go with a service. Arguably the most popular service is It's Just Lunch, which has been in business over twenty years.

There are a couple of dating business models I really like. One is called “It’s Just Lunch.” The site sets up a dozen lunch-date meetings. You chat over a delicious lunch and then say goodbye. If you like each other, you proceed. If not, it’s just lunch. Another model I like is the one where people are seated at a round-table dinner. Every 10 minutes people switch chairs so they are seated next to a different person. In one evening you have the opportunity to meet 10 or 12 different possible candidates for dating. It’s time effective.

When it comes to dating, online or in person, luck is involved. I know wealthy single people who paid exorbitant matchmaking fees and got no results. On the other hand, I know folks who used free dating sites and found their match. I think the key is to follow your own intuition about the most comfortable model to use and stay in action mode. When it’s no longer comfortable–stop. Explore other avenues. Don’t remain stagnant–keep trying!

Recently we asked 925 single women "Would you go out on a date with someone whom you knew was unemployed?" We received the following responses then made the results public, inspiring a number of popular media sites to join the conversation.